Fear of Failure, Joyfear & The Dog

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown own your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”—One can derive the life lessons that can only come from trying, failing, learning, and trying again. This is the epitome of having no fear of failure. ~Steve Jobs

The Fear of Failure

Unless you are living under a rock and have been for a long time you know about Apple products and the raging success they have made on our digital market, from music to computing. We have Steve Jobs to thank for that. Well, him and a bunch of people that worked with him. But he was one to stand up and talk about failure and how he chose to use it as a catalyst to success.

Fear is the base for the probability of failure in our minds’. It is the biggest thief of our dreams, our passions and becoming our best selves. It is even the base of disappointment in our besties including dogs.

Fear is a safe place to hide out. It is the reason we don’t get what we want out of life and only talk about what we are going to do some day soon. Fear makes sure that everything stays the same. Fear sucks.

Is Fear Defining Who You Are?  How you React to the Situation of Life Everyday?

Do you listen to the drone of others telling you… “not a good idea”, “you shouldn’t do that”, “you can’t do what you want to do it’s just not the way it is”, “life is difficult”.

Is it that it’s said enough, “you should be afraid”, that we believe it?

And then we repeatedly say it to ourselves. Unconsciously. I am afraid to do something new. I am afraid to be who I am.

Something changes when adulthood shows up. When we were kids we believed we have the powers of SuperMan or Ms. Marvel.  For real.

We had plans to be an astronaut, a scientist, an artist, make the whole world a better place, the best teacher ever, a fireman. What is it that changes so drastically? What makes us afraid to be who we are, make our dreams reality, find our true passions?

What Fear Does

It steals who we are, what we do and how we act.

It changes the face of our own dogs, who by nature are very in the moment. In fact if you have a dog that suffers from fear aggression or separation anxiety it’s time to take a look at what is going on in your own life. Yes, of course seeking a professional dog trainer’s help this case is high recommended, but….

Consider the fear is projected from your words, your actions, all that you comes with you upon entering a room.

Joyfear*

original word creator: Leo Babauta at ZenHabits

Recognize fear in the moment and start rewriting your story right then. Write it down. What are the reasons you have fear around it? You’ll start seeing a pattern or big fat ugly excuses.

Begin the transformation to joy.  Take your fear and create joy.  Joyfear.  Really, like love and hate, it’s a fine line.

When it comes to the dog… well they can’t write their own fears down but if you should be dealing with this issue, look at all that is around when the fear happens and then come up with three things you could do to change the picture for your dog. *Note, an easier project when understanding how dogs think and learn.

You have the control panel to change the fear in your life. It’s starts with recognizing that it exists and every time it jumps up and rears it’s ugly face, think differently.

“What if I let myself enjoy this moment? How can I appreciate myself and take action in a new way today? What is good around me, and how can I contribute to it?”

“What steps can I take to feel calm? To write the book I’ve dreamed of? To move from the city to a quieter more serene life? To move to New York city? To become a (fill in the blank)?

Take This Fear and Shove It

My friend and colleague Tess Marshall has written and teaches a course called “Take This Fear and Shove It”. If any of this resonated with you check it out. It could just be the start of your dreams come true.

If you do have a dog with fear issues, it is worth having a clearer understanding of your own fear. The picture will be much brighter when it comes to communicating calm to your dog and ultimately when it comes to your own daily habits.

Jt Clough lives In Kailua Kona on the Big Island, Hawaii, and practices health, happiness and natural remedies, while working as a habits coach for people looking to live healthier and happier lives.  She is a dog whisperer for our best friends; and studies natural dog remedies, nutrition and communication.